You are here

Senate inquiry

Scott Morrison's problem in delivering the budget is that people don't trust him.
He said Centrelink's new data matching software was going to deliver more "accurate and appropriate income testing". It would "cut red tape and ensure that mistakes are minimised".

Centrelink hit at least 21,000 families with bogus Family Tax Benefit debts last year, the federal government has conceded.
The welfare agency sent 65,000 demands in November 2016 to repay money received through the family assistance payment but about 21,400 of the families hit with the debt notices were able to prove they owed Centrelink nothing.

Morwell based Centrelink staff will be resisting the urge to say 'I told you so' after Labor and the Greens successfully lobbied for a senate inquiry into the Federal Government's maligned 'robo-debt' scheme.
In the past two years about 18 skilled Morwell staff have been transferred into other roles to make way for automated-debt calculation technology, which has since led to thousands of Centrelink clients facing repayments they do not owe.

Churchill resident Kate Zizys can empathise with Centrelink clients affected by 'robo-debt' orders for money they may not owe.
Having been in the Centrelink system on and off for most of her adult life, Ms Zizys has been forced to make inflated repayments in the past, despite going to appeal.

It's been making headlines since summer, when thousands of Australians suddenly found out they owed money to Centrelink.
Critics call it "robodebt", but how does the controversial system actually work?

The chief executive of a Shepparton-based not-for-profit organisation has highlighted the issues surrounding Centrelink’s automated data matching system and its approach to collecting alleged debts, as the issue faces a looming Senate inquiry.

Senior bureaucrats responsible for Centrelink told Senate Estimates on Thursday that staff at the department sift through print, broadcast, and social media for individual complaints, and decide whether to report grievances to Tudge's office based on the circumstances of each case.